“...While the overall sound of Friends & Lovers (produced by Ivan
Diaz Mathe, whose credits include Lee “Scratch” Perry and Mad Professor)
indicates a somewhat contemporary post-punk vibe, there’s also a lot of
looking back. Songs like the lazy, mid-tempo “Sun Goes Down”
successfully pay tribute to both the ‘80s psychedelic fuzz of Jesus and
Mary Chain and the broken English girl group buzz of Shonen Knife. For a
band with something of a singular sonic mission, Las Kellies seem to
check off a lot of musical boxes. The simplicity on the surface is
deceiving. There are occasions when Friends & Lovers tiptoes out of
the band’s comfort zone, like on “Sundays,” which employs major chords
and an almost funky, brittle (yet characteristically lazy) backbeat.
It’s a nice change of pace near the end of an album that you don’t
really want to end anyway. Even in their sunnier moments, Las Kellies
remain a somewhat inscrutable trio. Their shimmering, gauzy grooves work
well at loud volume when you just want to shut out the world..." (Read More: www.popmatters.com)